phone

The iPhone has been hit by a virus for the second time this month. And this time the consequences are more significant than an unwanted picture of Rick Astley . A couple of weeks ago, a worm virus left some users of the iPhone with the image of 80s ... singer Rick Astley as their wallpaper. The virus only worked on phones which had been jailbroken: that is to say, their owners had altered them so that they could run software without Apple's authorization. Unfortunately, some of those who did so left the handset prey to a major security breach if they failed to change the default password for ... (view more)

The U.S. government is considering a plan that would prevent Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from banning actions online that 'hog' bandwidth. The government's proposal would change how Internet providers such as AT ... (view more)

Microsoft has again denied reports it is planning to launch its own phone despite rumors that suggest it's working on a music-based handset to rival the iPhone. The latest report, one of the most mainstream so far, comes from the Wall Street ... Journal. It says Microsoft has had discussions with Verizon about teaming up to launch a smartphone on the network. Such a phone wouldn't just be another handset running Windows Mobile, but would have enhanced multimedia capabilities and include the Windows Marketplace for Mobile, Microsoft's take on Apple's App Store, due to launch later this year. ... (view more)

A telecommunications firm in Great Britain has received full regulatory permission to build a national fiber-optic network for broadband. It could mean speeds of up to 100 Mbps for those in cities, with rural dwellers left behind. The company ... concerned, British Telecom (BT), was once the monopoly provider of phone services in the country. Today it competes with others, but still controls the phone network itself, meaning phone users must either rent a line from BT or use a cable service. At the moment the fastest cable service belongs to Virgin Cable, which has just launched a premium 50Mbps ... (view more)

Google recently released a location-aware mobile application (Google Latitude) allowing the friends and family of a mobile phone user to track their location at all times. Not only is the location of the mobile user featured, but the application can ... also be used to contact them via SMS, Google Talk or Gmail. Now, Privacy International, a non-profit, British-based organization acting as a watchdog for surveillance invasions by governments and corporations has publicly blasted the application, calling it an "unnecessary danger to the security and privacy of a user". (Source: computerworld.com ... (view more)

Telecommunications reforms could bring broadband service to even more American rural areas, but there are fears the changes could also mean nationwide increases in phone charges. The Federal Communications Commission is proposing changes to two ... existing systems: one, the 'intercarrier compensation' scheme, governs how telephone companies split the call revenues when one firm's customer phones somebody in another firm's region. The other is the Universal Service Fund, under which a portion of long-distance phone call revenues is used to pay some of the costs of phone and Internet services in ... (view more)

According to recent reports from Britain, the UK government is considering a plan that would see up to twelve billion pounds spent on the monitoring and storing of citizen emails, phone calls, and browsing habits. The expansive tracking strategy, if ... implemented, would include everyone in Britain. Currently, the government has spent about a billion pounds financing similar projects; clearly, the infusion of twelve times that amount will drastically change the state's powers to probe the citizen population. The government's plan will use Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and home and mobile ... (view more)

Research In Motion (RIM), creators of the popular BlackBerry mobile device, are launching a more direct challenge to cell phone producers. The firm's newest model includes a flip-down keyboard, making it the first BlackBerry in the traditional phone ... shape. Previously, the BlackBerry had been available only as a flat-one piece device. Marketed primarily as a way to access emails wirelessly, its telephone functions had been seen as of secondary importance. For this reason it's generally been viewed as a business tool rather than a consumer device. The new BlackBerry Pearl is the first flip-down ... (view more)

Thus far, Apple has launched the iPhone in 22 new countries with plans for a future Russian launch that could guarantee 1.8 million sales a year. The news has prompted one analyst to forecast the new 3G version of the device will sell 45 million ... units next year. The new markets opened up this week range from Argentina to Venezuela and include several countries in Eastern Europe and Africa. The Philippines was first to receive the phone legally, with reports of sold-out launch parties. Perhaps the most unusual launch came in Greece, where local laws meant the phone had to be sold unlocked. In ... (view more)

The first mobile phone based on Google's "Android" system will be available on the T-Mobile network in October. But insiders say the device, while functional, lacks the grace and style of its obvious market rival, Apple's iPhone. As we reported back ... in November, Google opted against launching its own mobile phone, instead developing an open source software package with the idea that it could encourage manufacturers to develop cheaper handsets. The belief at the time was that Google might get back its investment by negotiating a cut of any advertising revenue network carriers would make ... (view more)